


Drastic Measures

by Jiemme



Series: Chain Reaction [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Gen, M/M, exhausted sidekick sousuke, implied makoharu, overprotective big brother rin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-09 16:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1990014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiemme/pseuds/Jiemme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rin would sell his soul to successfully execute the murder of Nagisa Hazuki (and get Sousuke to stop calling him overprotective).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin gets threatened by Haruka to stay away from Makoto (and hears Sousuke call him overprotective for the first time).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I never thought I'd write a sequel to Strawberry Shortcakes. 
> 
> But I did.
> 
> Overprotective big brother Rin sounds hilarious.

There were many words to describe Rin Matsuoka, but murderer wasn’t one of the right words.

Yet.

Sure, he imagined the death of Haruka’s swimming prowess or yelled out death threats to Rei for calling his teeth “unbeautiful” or “unsightly”, but those didn’t show the lengths of Rin’s true rage. Thanks to Haruka’s slip of the tongue and Makoto’s terrible lying skills, the red-haired teen finally realized why he was blessed with “beautiful” ( _take that, Rei!_ ) teeth – to rip Nagisa apart like a dog would with a stuffed teddy bear.

He didn’t hold a grudge against the pink-eyed blond for pranking him a couple hundred of times back in their elementary days, including his infamous vanishing swimming trunks trick or his clownish mime make-up event. He didn’t care that Nagisa was more of Haru’s fanboy than his. He didn’t mind that Nagisa was the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

But asking Gou out?

He should have seen this coming. Really.

Rin tried to suppress the image of the mischievous blond’s jaw dropping in front of him when Nagisa first saw his sister. That day, Nagisa’s eyes suddenly brightened like glistening pink diamonds under the sunlight, and his infamous white teeth surfaced along with his trademark youthful grin. He looked at Rin with a new innocent twinkle in his eyes, and Rin couldn’t help but smile at the dear look his friend had.

_“Rin-chan, your sister is really cute!”_

Suppression failed.

It was a good thing for Nagisa back then that Rin thought he was complimenting his sister instead of actually showing interest. He was accustomed to boys calling her cute, but Nagisa was the very first one who actually said it in front of him with genuine glee.

A part of Rin felt relieved that Gou had brains to stay away from Seijuro and the new brat in town related to him ( _cleavage my ass!_ ), but he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t take Nagisa’s bold move to ask her out… and the fact that she “gladly accepted”, according to Makoto.

 

* * *

 

  
**From:** Makoto

_Rin! Please don’t tell Nagisa we told you! :(_

**From:** Haruka

 _i'll hunt you down if you threaten makoto and tell nagisa_  
  


* * *

 

Brilliant. Confronting Nagisa would be the worst possible move because Haru would meddle in any way possible. He would never send threats to Makoto, but he knew Haruka was seriously demented to think of such an idea. The boy never bothered to send text messages to anyone, let alone to him.

“What’s eating you?”

Rin spun around by heel and faced Sousuke’s curious smirk. They had just finished swimming practice – dismissing the team included – and decided to take a walk before heading back to the dormitories. It was a good decision too – he needed to talk to someone about this. He could tell Nitori about it, but his gentle soul might even push him to give Nagisa a chance, probably thinking that Nagisa would be too distracted by Gou to make Nitori win against him in swimming next time.

“It’s that obvious, huh,” Rin huffed. He grabbed his bag and left the swimming pool area with Sousuke. The taller boy chuckled and gave him a playful bump on the shoulder.

“You were staring at the pool like it was a Literature test or something,” Sousuke replied.

“Well, wouldn’t you feel pissed knowing that your sister was asked out and she actually accepted?”

Sousuke’s brow twitched. “Mikoshiba managed to win her over? Seriously? I thought Gou had better tas–“

“Not him,” Rin seethed. “Nagisa.”

He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled in frustration, leaning his head back to take in the sun-kissed orange color that painted the sky. He heard a chuckle escape Sousuke’s lips once again, causing the red-haired boy to grunt in annoyance. Sousuke had no idea how hard it was for him to keep his muscle-obsessed sister in line. She was too young for dating!

“You think this is funny?” he asked, tilting his head sideward to glance at Sousuke. The boy gave him a humored look and nodded.

“Overprotective big brother,” Sousuke snorted. “That’s what you are.”

Rin gritted his pointed teeth. “She’s too young to–“

“To date?” the teal-eyed boy interrupted coolly. The corner of his lips curled into a knowing smile. “Come on, Rin. Aren’t you glad it wasn’t one of the Mikoshiba brothers? You kept on complaining about Seijuro-san’s advances and Momo’s babbling.”

“Gou was too ignorant to notice them,” Rin began. “But she and Nagisa think on the same level, giving him the advantage to win her over. He didn’t even ask me for permission!”

“You do know that Gou would throw a beach ball at your head for saying that, right? She has the final say on who she wants to date.” Rin simply scoffed at this. “Besides, what did Nagisa-kun plan for their date anyway?”

Rin sighed. He practically scared off Makoto before he could ask, and Haruka wouldn’t let him approach them until he was sure Rin would let the case go – which was probably never. He could ask Rei, but he was pretty sure that he would inform Nagisa that he asked, which would complete the cycle back to Haruka’s warning.

“No idea. I’m only sure that they will go out tomorrow.”

Sousuke laughed. “And you’re planning to spy on them?”

Rin stayed silent.

“You’re not seriously going to do it, are you?”

Rin shrugged and sent him a smirk, which the other boy reciprocated with eye rolling and a raised eyebrow.

He was determined to kill Nagisa for being the first boy to successfully asking Gou out without going through him first, even if that meant selling his soul (to whom, though, he didn’t know).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll make sure the next chapter doesn't turn out horrible. XD
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Free!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin tells Nitori to keep a secret (while Nitori gets threatened by Sousuke's glare).

_**From:** Hazuki-san_

_i can’t schedule a friendly rematch today, sorry! i'm off to the mall о(ж＞▽＜)ｙ ☆ how about next week, ai-chan?_

* * *

 

“Senpai, why won’t you text him yourself?”

Rin sighed and pulled Nitori outside his room, making sure Momotaro stayed asleep. He closed the door gently and placed a hand on the silver-haired boy’s shoulder.

“I trust you, and I will entrust this secret to you. Got it?”

Nitori nodded eagerly with a curious look.

“Nagisa and Gou are dating.”

The younger boy’s eyes lit up with delight, his hands suddenly shaking, his lips curving with a pleasant demeanor. “Really? It’s about time they did!”

Rin’s figurative comfort bubble suddenly popped, which did not go unnoticed by Nitori. The boy swore a faint black glow started swirling around his senior, an unmistakable aura of frustration creeping on his skin. He shivered, his left foot stepping backwards, but Rin’s grip on his shoulder was too tight for him to make an escape.

“S-senpai…”

“Did you know anything about this?” Rin growled in a very low voice. Nitori struggled with words scattered in his mind. He didn’t!

“N-no! I swear, I had no idea! I-I just thought they went well together, Senpai!” the younger boy stammered, eyes tightly shut. He started shaking his head quickly, more words spilling out from his lips out of anxiety, while Rin slowly let go of Nitori.

“…a-and I r-remembered seeing them joke around, and I thought that Nagisa-san was better for her than Nanase-senpai, a-and–“

“Nitori.”

Said boy fell silent, moving his field of vision from the floor to Rin’s cool expression. “Stop explaining yourself. I won’t bite you.”

Nitori nodded sheepishly, running a hand through his hair and grinning timidly. The older boy couldn’t help but smile back and pat Nitori’s back out of affection.

“I will bite you if you tell anyone about this, though,” he continued, chuckling at Nitori’s flinching face. “Do not tell anyone, understand? Unless you want to hear Momo wail on about my sister–“

“No way, Senpai!” Nitori interrupted. “His obsession scares me, and he’s too noisy for me!”

Rin flashed a snarky grin at Nitori. “Good. This is just between you and me.”

Before Nitori could say anything, he saw a familiar pair of teal eyes at the nearest corner of the hallway. “Senpai–“

The teal eyes thinned menacingly, sending a dark glare at his way. Nitori gulped – he never knew Sousuke was willing to taunt him that way. _He must know something about this_ , Nitori thought.

“Hmm? What was that?” Rin asked, snapping Nitori’s attention away from the fading eyes.

“Ehh… Senpai, aren’t you happy for your sister?” Nitori wanted to smack his head. What a pathetic question, considering that Rin wouldn’t do such things if he was happy for her.

Rin’s eyes narrowed. “Nagisa would be better for her than Haru. But Nagisa didn’t ask me first, and he has to face the consequences. What if he’s defiling my sister’s pure thoughts? Nagisa’s not as angelic as he looks,” he spat, clearly associating the phrase ‘devil incarnate’ with the younger blond.

 _Pure thoughts?_ Nitori thought. _Muscles aren’t really pure thoughts…_

“At least I could trust Makoto enough with Gou, but Haru won’t approve. Nagisa, on the other hand, is too reckless. I could imagine him daring Gou to ride a death-causing rollercoaster or driving her around Iwatobi while using his phone.”

Nitori cleared his throat. “Uh, Senpai, Nagisa-kun’s too young to drive.”

The boy jumped back in horror when Rin glanced at him with a furious blaze reflecting in his eyes. “Exactly. Don’t you see the danger of them dating?”

 _Oh boy… he’s thinking too much,_ Nitori (and Sousuke at the corner) thought.

* * *

Rin sat on a bench near Nagisa in the train station, fully clad in an anonymous get-up. He wore a long-sleeved dark hoodie (that hid his arms because Gou could recognize them anywhere) and large-framed sunglasses. He also wore a black baseball cap to double the concealing effect on his ponytailed red hair.

If he obliged himself to spy on them, he had to do it with style.

He exhaled and buried his face in his hands. He wouldn’t do this if Gou shared this to him (because Nagisa had asked her out weeks ago) or if Nagisa asked permission from him first. But, of course, Sousuke had to be right on something again. He reminded Rin to talk to his sister, but the latter didn’t really bother until he found out and felt butt-hurt for being the last to know in their group of friends. Rin had been somewhat ignorant on his sister out of his desire to compete with Haruka in the previous year. They were distant from each other, especially when compared to their childhood days.

He wouldn’t admit that to himself, of course.

And he was in denial with the fact that Gou had the brains to keep this a secret from him because she knew how he would react.

Rin grunted and glanced at Nagisa, who was sitting on another bench, eating sweet bread and rocking his legs back and forth. It was unusual for Rin to see him without Rei… without Makoto or Haruka. The blond boy looked like an innocent bystander amongst the busy people around them, but Rin knew better.

The red-haired boy fought the urge to approach Nagisa. Why was he so paranoid anyway? Nagisa was a good person – a good friend. He might have pulled thousands of pranks on him back in the day, but surely, Nagisa knew how precious Gou was to him, right?

“Finally took you long enough, Gou-chan!” Rin heard him say, snapping him out of his brief reminiscing.

The older boy quickly turned around and saw his sister jog towards Nagisa, taking shallow breaths after rushing, her hair bouncing with strawberry-shaped clips. She gave Nagisa a painless whack on the shoulder and sat beside him, and the boy handed a piece of his favorite bread to her.

“It’s Kou. And thank you,” she mumbled, taking his offered sweet. Rin groaned, ready to eavesdrop as they waited for the next train.

“I’m going to take you home later,” Nagisa said before taking a bite out of his bread.

Gou giggled, making Rin grit his teeth. “How gentlemanly of you. Are you sure, though? You have to ride the train twice.”

“Glad you finally acknowledged it, Gou-chan,” the boy retorted. By the sound of his voice, Rin could conclude that the blond was smirking at his sister. “It’s fine. I’m concerned of your safety… and you being slow.”

Rin heard another slap on the shoulder. “I’m not slow!”

“Then why were you out of breath earlier?”

“I–“

“If it’s not because of running, I’m going to assume I took your breath away,” Nagisa interrupted gleefully.

 _Damn it,_ Rin thought. Nagisa was smooth.

He waited for his sister to unleash some minor physical pain on him, but he instead noticed the blush on both their cheeks as Gou tried to come up with a witty comeback.

“The train’s coming,” was all she answered, cheeks still red. Nagisa grinned in victory as he fixed his messenger bag, putting his bread back in it.

“Don’t stress. This surprise is on me,” Nagisa told her. _So he didn’t tell her they were headed to the mall?_

Rin’s eyes widened when he saw a playful smile on his sister’s face. “Of course it is. You wanted to take me out, right?”

The red-haired boy expected Nagisa to make a witty comeback, but fate decided to prove him wrong by making his sister wink at the blond before standing up, leaving Nagisa into a blushing mess.

_Gou is flirting. Unacceptable!_

Killing Nagisa was Rin’s top priority. He was corrupting Gou’s innocence! But he couldn’t do that inside the train. In front of his sister. Or in front of other people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Free! yadda yadda yadda
> 
> I initially wanted them to have an amusement park date, but then I segued. Thanks for reading! :D Expect the next chapter... soon. Hahaha!
> 
> I'm going to limit the time period of this fic to take place after episode 4, but before episode 5.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin feels annoyed by Sousuke's presence (especially because Sousuke approved of Nagisa for his sister).

If only Nagisa didn’t ask Gou out, he would snap without holding back and berate the both of them in the train.

They were too noisy and it was embarrassing!

He rubbed his temples with his fingers in circular motion, soothing his imaginary migraine from the familiar loud voices a seat across him. It was even worse that they had to talk about Rei, of all people, and his probable aromanticism or sapiosexuality ( _who knew there was such a thing?!_ ), of all topics. Rin couldn’t really remember what Gou had told him a few texts ago, but she sent a message that went along the lines of ‘rei baked you snacks and he told me he thinks love is silly’ and the like.

Of course, Nagisa being Nagisa, had to exaggerate the whole thing and make such a wild conversation with Gou. Why Rei still tolerated Nagisa, Rin couldn’t figure out anymore.

“But you know, there were times I thought you liked Rei-kun,” he heard his sister say. Nagisa snorted and wore a humored expression.

“Gou-chan is silly–“

“It’s Kou.”

“–because I do like Rei-chan!” Nagisa finished, ignoring Gou’s pleads to be called Kou (which was something even Rin found tiring).

Gou raised a brow and smacked him on the shoulder. “You do understand what kind of ‘like’ I meant, right?”

Nagisa cleared his throat. “Ah. You meant that, huh? If I gave up on liking Gou-chan, I’d say Rei-chan suits my tastes because he’s so fun to tease.”

Rin’s eyes widened, and he was surprised he did so. Why would he feel shocked at that remark anyway? He knew Nagisa well enough to know the boy wouldn’t give a damn at whoever he liked, whatever gender that person had. And with the way he and Rei acted together… Rin and Gou were on the same page on Gou’s initial thought about Nagisa’s person of interest.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘if I gave up on liking Kou-chan’?”

Rin snorted. His sister didn’t give up on the Kou thing.

“I told you, didn’t I? I like you, Gou-chan. I like you a lot. And I didn’t want to give up on liking you, even though you were dense with other boys. But then again, you probably didn’t pay attention to them because you liked me too!”

The Matsuoka siblings gritted their teeth at the same time for different reasons. “What do you mean I was dense?! And it’s Kou! Say it, Kou!”

“Okay, it’s Gou!”

A few seats away from them, a voice said, “Keep it down, you two!”

Gou fell silent, cheeks red in embarrassment, while Nagisa laughed loudly (obviously a defense mechanism from humiliation) and said, “Thanks, mister! That rhymed with what I said!” before placing an arm around the girl.

“That guy doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Rin heard the blond boy whisper in reassurance, successfully earning a giggle from Gou.

His eyes darted around the train car and searched for that angry voice, only to find a tall man in the same (un)fashionable get-up as him. Rin was taken aback when he found that man stare back at him… and send that oh too familiar smug curl of the lips.

_Sousuke._

* * *

“What the actual fuck, Sousuke?!”

“Hey, I saw you were getting annoyed,” Sousuke reasoned, raising both his hands in front of his shoulders for defense. Inaudible grumbles escaped the red-haired boy’s lips, but Sousuke didn’t feel bothered with them.

“That Nagisa has guts, though,” Sousuke added with a thoughtful face, complete with his thumb under his chin and a finger above his lips. “Talking back to a complete stranger for Gou. I’m impressed.”

Sousuke sidestepped quickly and dodged Rin’s anticipated whack on the shoulder, causing the latter to stumble and bump Sousuke’s right arm.

“Just shut up until we get there,” Rin hissed. It had been ten minutes since they left the train station, and he planned to scold Sousuke while taking another route to the mall, and Rin felt worn out from worrying about his sister and avoiding Sousuke’s unwanted mockery.

Sousuke sighed and helped straighten Rin’s cap while Rin smoothed out his hoodie. “I would be glad to do that, but how will we find them in the mall with tons of stores?”

“How did you find out where they were headed to anyway?” Rin asked with a scowl.

“I heard you talking about it with Nitori in the hallway,” the taller boy answered. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“Hmph, get a clue,” Rin chided. “Nitori’s gonna help us.”

He took out his phone immediately and sent a message to the younger boy, depending on Sousuke to help him move through the crowd as he concentrated. He received a message in less than two minutes with an eager reply.

_**From:** Nitori_

_senpai! they are headed to the arcade! (°∀°)b_

_\--_

_**To:** Nitori_

_thanks, nitori!_

_\--_

_**From:** Nitori_

_anytime senpai! (*^▽^*)_

\--

“Geez, you trust that kid too much sometimes, Rin,” Sousuke mumbled as they turned right at the corner of the sidewalk and found the mall at least five meters away from them. Rin poked Sousuke firmly on the rib, causing the taller boy to stifle a cry of pain immediately.

“You have no idea how helpful Nitori has been to me,” he grunted. “It’s not like my only friends were Haruka and the others.”

“Tch, with the way you tail Nanase all the time?” the other boy retorted.

Rin sighed and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Sousuke, do you seriously believe I don’t give Haru space? He’d kill me for time alone with his precious Makoto.”

He couldn’t tell whether Sousuke felt better or worse at that revelation (and the mental image), but at least that managed to shut him up.

“Nagisa, slow down!”

They were still feet away from the mall’s entrance, but Rin was sure that was his sister’s panicked scream. He and Sousuke saw her arm extended, her wrist being pulled by the enthusiastic Nagisa, with her legs trying to catch up with the striding boy’s pace.

“I’m sorry, Gou-chan, but I’m just really excited to hang out with you today!” Nagisa yelled out. The boy surprisingly slowed down, let go of Gou’s wrist, and took her hand with a smile. Gou was immobilized for a few seconds until Nagisa squeezed her hand.

“Where do you wanna eat first, Gou-chan?”

“Your treat?”

“Yeah!”

Rin rolled his eyes and continued walking, but heard no footsteps following him. He turned around and noticed the warm smile on Sousuke’s lips.

“Why are you smiling?!” Rin spat. Sousuke parted his lips, but Rin quickly cut him off, “No, I don’t want to hear it. Just shut up until we make it inside.”

Sousuke grinned and gave Rin a silent two-finger salute, only to have his friend click his tongue in annoyance and move forward in stomps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Free! ES.
> 
> Sorry for the late update. Classes finally started and they are my top priority at the moment. But fear not, there will still be more chapters! :D
> 
> (and yes, I'm seriously biased with makoharu please don't judge me)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin sees how Nagisa looks at Gou (while Sousuke wants to drink Rin's cup of coffee).

The pair chose a quaint coffee shop to have lunch in, and the variety of cakes in the display case didn’t surprise Rin the slightest. He shoved Sousuke in and led him to a table near the couple’s, but Sousuke’s lower lip curved downwards.

“Shouldn’t we order something? We look like creeps,” the boy told him. Rin resisted the urge to give him a kick under the table and instead took a deep breath and stared at the chalk board menu behind the main counter. There were at least six meaty sandwiches listed, much to his relief, and he asked Sousuke to choose for him.

“And I’m guessing I have to choose your drink too,” Sousuke groaned.

“Hey, you tagged along, so you should do something productive in this mission,” Rin retorted cheekily.

He didn’t expect Sousuke’s sour look to fade immediately. “Got it, boss. You still have some overprotecting to do, after all,” he said, and the taller boy swiveled his chair slightly before getting up and marching off, leaving Rin speechless.

He wasn’t that overprotective.

“You eat a lot of sweets, Nagisa. You have to cut down,” he heard Gou say at the table near theirs. _Now THAT’s overprotective,_ he thought.

But no, Rin didn’t want Gou to be overprotective of Nagisa. Not in the context of them as a couple.

Nagisa snorted with a mouthful of cake behind his partly-open lips, but Gou shot him a ‘you’d better swallow your food before talking to me’ glare immediately. It was amazing how she got Nagisa to control himself when it came to sweets, but Rin was willing to sacrifice a better diet plan for the younger blond if that meant keeping Gou from dating him.

“But Gou-chan, sweets to me is like… hmm, beauty to Rei-chan! I can’t live without sweets,” Nagisa told her before scarfing down another large portion of his lemon-strawberry cake. The girl shook her head and returned her attention to the sandwich she chose. Rin glanced at Sousuke for a short moment, noticing his friend stretching his head sideways while moving his hand on his left shoulder, before looking back at his targets.

“Will you make more of those, Gou-chan?” Nagisa asked.

Rin raised a brow under his hat. “More of my cooking?” she chirped. Nagisa’s excited nodding gave away his answer, and Gou placed a hand above her lips to muffle an escaped giggle. “If you promise to eat healthy, maybe I’ll make a special bento for you.”

_What?!_

“But that’s the point of making food for me, Gou-chan. It’s healthy!” Nagisa chimed.

“Nagisa, you should eat vegetables too.”

“I eat vegetables! But not all of them, because they aren’t sweet in any way whatsoever,” Nagisa grunted.

 “There’s sweet potato and sweet corn,” Gou suggested with a half smile and scrunched eyebrows.

“Just because they have the word ‘sweet’ in their names doesn’t mean that they are, Gou-chan!”

The girl had no other reaction except an exhale of defeat. Nagisa blinked and glanced down, realizing he must have been too overbearing and literal. “Fine, I’ll eat vegetables, as long as you add them in my special bento!”

“But how will I make a bento for you if you won’t eat vegetables first?”

Rin groaned in frustration – they never failed to cause a lengthy chain of squabbles. Nagisa continued spouting reasons on why Gou should make a bento for him before he would eat vegetables, while Gou retorted with reasons why she wouldn’t fix a special bento for Nagisa if he wouldn’t eat vegetables first. It was maddening that Sousuke returned after seven minutes with all their food, and the two were still quarrelling over the same topic. The larger boy noticed how loud they were getting, but he simply enjoyed watching Rin hold back from strangling them both.

“Hey, chill,” he said, pulling out his chair before sitting. “Let your sister have some fun.”

“Fun? They’re arguing,” Rin snapped.

Sousuke pushed the plastic tray towards Rin, grabbing his sandwich afterwards. “More like playful banter. Even you could feel it,” he smirked back. Rin rolled his eyes... even though Sousuke had a point. “I’ve never seen Gou have this much fun for a while, at least. Whenever I see her around the Iwatobi team, she usually means business. But look at her unwinding like a child again.”

It was hard to believe Sousuke sounded too alike with Rin’s Gou-concerned conscience that rested in the very deep, deep, deep, deep (need I say how many more deeps would follow?) depths of his mind, which was overshadowed by Rin’s belief that Gou was still too young to date anyone, let alone a handful like Nagisa.

“Hey, remember when we used to play ‘Go Fish’ with Gou?” Sousuke said before taking a bite out of his sandwich. Rin did the same (and savored the delicious mix of beef and mushroom sauce), and found himself reminiscing as Sousuke went on about their childhood.

“We would tease her by saying it’s Gou Fish, and she’d kick you even though I said it?” he added. Rin couldn’t suppress a small smile. Of course he remembered. He would always snap at Gou and punch Sousuke on the shoulder for causing him that much trouble. “We’d play for hours,” Sousuke continued, “And I had the most wins.”

The smile eventually changed to a snarling pout. “Excuse you, I had the most wins.”

“No, I had the most wins. You had the most ‘I wanna rematch!’ pouts,” Sousuke replied with a tongue stuck out.

“I’d yank your tongue right now if it wasn’t so disgusting,” Rin grumbled.

Sousuke rolled his eyes. “Can it, Rin. I’m trying to entertain you with old memories,” he grinned.

“What’s the point of all that anyway? I can remember our play dates well enough, you know,” Rin replied. He took a large bite out of his meaty mushroom sandwich as he glanced back at the two lovebirds’ table.

_No! They aren’t lovebirds!_

“But honestly, I think it would be cool to set Rei up for a date,” he overheard Gou say. “After hearing him say he had no time for love, I wanted to make it my mission to find him someone!”

Nagisa snorted, but didn’t say anything.

Rin’s eyes widened. Nagisa didn’t say anything.

What was going on?

“I mean, I thought about setting you two up but…”

Rin waited for a remark. All Nagisa gave was a soft smile.

A soft smile.

And a soft laugh.

“Anyway, do you think he’ll like Chigusa? It’ll be funny to watch, though…”

His sister went off into droning, her eyes fixed upwards while her hands moved for expression. But Nagisa… oh, Nagisa was just watching her now with a very fond smile, his left hand barely clutching his paper cup. The look on his eyes soft, his eyebrows slightly raised, his right hand on his right cheek… Nagisa was too quiet.

It was all too strange for Rin.

“You have got to admit Gou has him hooked,” Sousuke hummed as he sipped his cup of coffee. Seconds later, he slammed the empty paper cup on their table and chuckled, completely aware that Rin was still too distracted with the way Nagisa looked at his sister.

Sousuke sighed. Slamming the cup didn’t get his attention. _Sooner or later_ , he thought, Rin would arrive to his senses. At least he was absorbing that someone actually felt genuine affection towards Gou. It was about time, anyway.

“Yo, Rin, your coffee’s getting cold.”

“Go drink it if you want, I’m still busy spying,” Rin barked, waving his right arm frantically without looking back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Free! ES.
> 
> VERY VERY LATE UPDATE I AM SO SORRY
> 
> UNIVERSITY LIFE GAVE ME TEARS TO SHED
> 
> And since Biochemistry decided to unleash a nightmare of an exam to me earlier, I knew I had to update my fanfics to feel better.
> 
> And you have to admit Gou Fish is hilarious (someone please make a deck of cards with Free! designs)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin encounters another familiar face (while Sousuke admits he likes dancing games in arcades).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Updated late. Again. XD But I'll probably finish this fic this year! :D
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read and left kudos and commented! I'm glad :')
> 
> Yay for arcades! I can imagine Nagisa being the coolest kid on the dance floor in arcades! Dance Stage Party ~ Dance Dance Revolution and cookies to whoever guesses what cat app Makoto loves using! XD Note that this fic is semi-crack so I really do exaggerate Rin's reactions. XD

Sousuke, in all his manly glory, admitted he enjoyed playing Dance Stage Party in the arcade. He compliments its ability to ‘build stamina and develop an ear for rhythm’, with great music as a bonus. While dancing seemed like a graceful pastime, Rin didn’t appreciate what Sousuke could for the very reason that Nagisa was begging Gou to dance with him.

Competitively, yes, but it was still dancing together.

“Nagisa, we just ate,” Gou pouted. Rin nodded aggressively, which earned a snort from Sousuke.

The blond’s eyes darted upwards. “Well, then, let’s play other arcade games first!”

The nods slowly turned into head shaking as Gou took Nagisa’s hand and ran with him to the nearest bench. Rin’s eyebrows etched in confusion until the pair took out tiny coin purses from their bags. “Most machines ask for a hundred yen,” Sousuke stated, pulling his hood off from his head. Rin’s mouth dropped in horror.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You’ll be spotted!” he hissed with eyes narrowed. He was dangerously close to knocking on Sousuke’s head to check whether it was hollow or not.

“Then I’ll say it’s a coincidence. You’re the one who should be hiding,” Sousuke replied coolly. Before Rin could give back a snarky answer, someone bumped him from behind.

“Sorry,” he and the stranger said in unison, but Rin realized the stranger’s voice was quite familiar.

Too familiar, in fact.

He watched the stranger settle behind a claw machine game like a lurker and move his head around, obviously searching for something or someone. Rin was about to return his full attention to Sousuke until he realized that the stranger was gawking at the direction of none other than Nagisa and Gou, who were now pooling their 100 yen coins into one of Nagisa’s handkerchiefs.

He tugged on the sleeve of Sousuke’s hoodie a bit too hard, earning a flick on his head.

“Oi, Rin, what’s that all about?” the taller boy grunted, pulling his arm away. Rin looked back at him in annoyance while his finger pointed at the direction of the stranger. Sousuke’s head was fuller than Rin thought since he was able to grasp the situation immediately.

They slowly moved towards the stranger, getting a clearer image of what the person looked like. He wore a plain gray hooded cardigan and… red glasses?

Rin took no time to clutch the person’s shoulder. “Ryuugazaki. What do you think you’re doing?”

A loud unhuman howl escaped from Rei’s mouth as he spun to Rin and Sousuke’s direction, earning questioning stares from everyone in their vicinity. Sousuke even noticed Nagisa and Gou momentarily glance upwards to their direction, Gou’s face filled with confusion and Nagisa’s with horror. Rin pulled Rei away from the scene immediately, Sousuke behind them to block Nagisa and Gou’s sight of them, with their faces as red as Rin’s hair.

“What the fuck was that sound you made earlier?!” Rin hissed as he pushed the blue-haired boy to sit on a nearby mall bench. “You sounded like a tortured whale!”

Rin tried his best to bite back adding something like, “It’s not like you to show off such unbeautiful noises.”

Rei, face still crimson red, clenched his fists tightly rested on his thighs. “You surprised me, Rin-senpai! How was I supposed to react?!” he screamed back. Rin could swear he could hear his voice cracking.

“He has a point, you know,” Sousuke added, earning a look of esteem from the flustered party.

“Since when have you been the voice of reason, Sousuke?” Rin answered, feeling furious with the truth that he definitely was at fault this time. Of course he wouldn’t admit it since it wouldn’t have happened if Rei didn’t show up. But then again, creeping up on someone could definitely give the wrong person a heart attack…

His pride of steel won’t let him budge in this situation, however.

His best friend shrugged and turned back to Rei, who was currently sneaking peeks at the arcade. “You’re here to spy on them, aren’t you?” Sousuke asked, which sounded less like an interrogative question and more like a confrontational statement. Rin hardly recognized the shades of red that Rei’s flushed face displayed, wondering if art students could distinguish them.

“Y-yes,” he admitted, head bowing down quickly. “I-it’s not like I don’t trust in Nagisa’s dating skills! I was just curious if he followed the itinerary I s-suggested to him the other night!”

Rin cringed. _He planned a fucking itinerary for a date that isn’t his?!_

“Obviously, he didn’t,” Rei continued, voice surprisingly lacking bitterness. “But I… I’m still curious. On how this date will go. This is the first one they’d have alone.”

Sousuke chuckled from behind. “So they’ve been to other dates with you thirdwheeling?”

Rin’s face darkened with a shade of red he possibly didn’t know either. “How many dates did they have already?” he barked. Rei backed his seated body away from the duo.

“Three,” he answered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’d prefer the term ‘observer’ since I was tasked to observe if Nagisa has impressed Gou-san.”

“Nagisa asked you to do that?” Sousuke added, seeing that Rin’s fuming could only result to disastrous and rambling questions and/or statements.

Rei’s face flushed red again. “N-not exactly… but I want to ensure he doesn’t do anything unsightly in this date.”

His head suddenly sprang up. “Wait a second, what are you doing here, Rin-senpai?”

“The same thing as you are,” he answered through gritted teeth. “For a different reason, of course. Our little friend didn’t ask permission from me to date my sister.”

Sousuke swore he never saw a face pale as quickly as Rei’s. “O-oh. I guess Nagisa-kun should have asked for your blessing–”

The wording plucked a nerve Rin wasn’t aware he had. “My blessing? What are they, an engaged couple?”

Sousuke pulled Rin back. “Rin, calm down. If you keep this up, you won’t be able to keep an eye on them.”

Rin’s body relaxed slightly as he pulled away from Sousuke’s firm hold. Maybe, just maybe, Rei was actually tasked to keep him distracted just in case Nagisa anticipated the possibility of Rin interfering. Oh, how Rin really wanted to interfere, but it wasn’t a choice for him to cause a scene and make his sister hate him for the rest of their existence.

And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, this was a great method of evaluating Nagisa as Gou’s suitor. It also helped him assess Nagisa and Gou’s compatibility, and Gou’s happiness.

He squinted one last angry glance at Rei before trudging back to the arcade’s direction, easily noticing his sister and the blond brat pointing at a claw machine filled with plushies from that overbearingly popular cat collecting application. He only knew of it because Makoto filled his Instagram with screenshots of them (and of course, Haruka liking them all just added to his notifications). He could hear Sousuke's and Rei’s footsteps from behind.

“Rin-senpai, I think it’s best if we hide behind that slot machine over there,” he heard Rei suggest.

He didn’t turn back but walked towards the said slot machine, hoping to ease Rei’s feelings and silently apologize for being too drastic with him earlier. But if Speedo-glasses really was tasked to distract Rin, then he would force himself to retract the apology the moment he unveils the treachery.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rin realizes some things due to a damned claw machine (while Sousuke slays an arcade rhythm game score-wise and touch screen-wise).
> 
> (and Rei will forever be a physics dork)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much cheese because I finished this chapter at 4 AM. XD
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read and left kudos in the last chapter! :'D I really should have updated this fic when Free! Eternal Summer was still airing T_T I miss the more active fandom. But anyway, I'm excited for July since the High Speed! Starting Days DVD will be released by then! :'D Just one month left!
> 
> Claw machines are rad. The right ones, anyway. There really are some machines that have weak grips. I personally have been able to win some stuffed toys due to idk sheer luck and looking at the machine's mirror for guidance XD and yes, I really like writing dates taking place in arcades because games let people bond!

If there was one thing Rin found more annoying than seeing his sister date Nagisa, it was hearing Rei spout nonsensical calculations on how to properly obtain a stuffed animal from the claw machine. It was a _FUCKING. CLAW. MACHINE._ _Damn it, Megane!_ Not even mastering all the theoretical concepts of physics would allow a person to grab those toys like a professional!

“Rei, would you please keep it down?” he hissed, smacking Rei’s shoulder. Sousuke snorted, resulting to Rin’s attention shifting to him. “This isn’t funny!”

Rin’s eyes rolled as he watched Sousuke shrug, slumping down on the bench behind him while Sousuke readied himself to play a screen-bound music rhythm game. Rei looked very curious and stood next to Sousuke to watch.

“I just remembered how you used to believe that claw machines only carried toys if you have a pure heart,” Sousuke replied as he tapped the game’s screen, voice soft. Rei’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Yamazaki-senpai, I believe it’s either the conscious application of physics,” Rei began with a tone so sure and so proud, but he saw the older male roll his eyes. “…or sheer dumb luck. Purity of one’s soul isn’t involved.”

“Well, how else would you expect the claw to grab something for you?” Rin retorted. “No one has a pure heart so no one wins. Ever.”

Rei speculated that Rin might be bitter about claw machines, perhaps from childhood experiences. It was best if he didn’t mention that _Haruka-senpai was brilliant with claw machines_ _(especially Neko Atsume ones that took away Makoto-senpai’s attention from him)_ because it trumped his idea of consciously using physics and it would earn him another smack on the shoulder from the older red-head.

This was getting silly, as Nagisa and Gou really hadn’t tried getting a toy yet anyway. They were still canvassing for the ‘perfect’ claw machine, as Nagisa had said. Most of the toys probably didn’t suit his standards of adorableness, and the Neko Atsume claw machine was swamped with too many people for them to try.

“Nagisa-kun, look!” they heard Gou say. The three boys darted their attention to the couple, who were settled in front of the claw machine with stuffed penguins as prizes, their backs facing the trio.

 _Typical. At least the penguins are cute,_ Rin thought.

“You can do it, Gou-chan!” Nagisa cheered. “Win a stuffed penguin! Ooh, get that pink one with the white belly!”

“If I get one, you have to call me Kou,” his sister replied, a smug look on her face.

“If you do get one, Gou-chan,” Nagisa teased, emphasizing her name. It was practically his term of endearment for her. Gou smirked back at him, much to Rin’s chagrin. Why, oh why did the heavens allow his sister to be besotted with this sneaky imp?

Sousuke lost interest in watching them, evident by the music that began playing behind Rin. He turned to see his best friend murdering the screen with heavy taps ( _it’s going to need a replacement…_ ) and Rei’s attention often shifted from the screen to the claw machine.

Nagisa inserted a coin in the claw machine, and the large claw sprang to life. Gou began moving the claw around, but Rin couldn’t judge whether she was doing a good job at targeting their penguin of choice. Nagisa’s jumpiness died down, the boy’s fists close to his chest, his eyes and smile wide. And slowly, the claw descended once Gou pressed the big red button on the machine’s console.

If Gou had managed to grab a penguin, it would at least prove Rin’s childhood belief that pure-hearted people are blessed by the claw machine. He would castrate anyone who says her innocence was long gone because of her affection for muscles.

“No!” he heard Gou and Nagisa shriek, the claw rising empty handed.

“That was so close!” Nagisa yelped. “So close, Gou-chan!”

“I know! It was hugging the penguin’s belly already,” Gou whined. “You try, Nagisa-kun! I don’t want us to lose to some machine!”

Rin heard a chuckle from behind while he cringed at how rowdy his sister could be around Nagisa. “Clearly, they should take into account the claw’s speed when descending and utilize the mirror for…”

Nope. Rin was not having any of that physics shit.

“Interesting, interesting,” he heard Sousuke reply. He wondered if Sousuke was just trying to keep Rei’s ego from being bruised by Rin ignoring him or if he was talking about the game he was playing. Either way, Rei’s babbles quickly vanished and changed into questions for Sousuke.

“What song is that, Yamazaki-senpai?”

“I forgot. Let’s check after I win.”

“C-can I… try it after?”

“There’s a two player mode. Let me just finish this.”

 _At least Sousuke’s making friends_ , Rin thought with a chuckle. Rei wasn’t all that bad.

He watched Gou and Nagisa switch places, with Gou inserting the coin this time. Nagisa began moving the crane around wildly, directionless. “Do you think this one is easier to get, Gou-chan?” he asked. Without warning, he moved the claw immediately to the opposite end. “How about here?”

Oi vey. Rin never knew a claw could swing so hard it would hit the glass with a loud _chink!_ If Nagisa broke this machine and banned himself and his sister from this arcade, he would never give them his ‘blessing’.

“This is a good spot, right?”

“Nagisa-kun, I thought you said the pink one? Why are you going for the yellow one?”

“Wait, I think this spot is better! And of course I’ll get the pink one!”

After swinging the claw recklessly for what seemed to be half a minute, Nagisa finally stopped toggling the joystick, waiting for the claw to stop shaking. “The still claw is more stable in carrying a stuffed animal. This allows the claw to utilize the optimal potential of its pick-up strength.” he heard Rei murmur from behind. “Perhaps it would also lead to the optimal retain strength? Interesting…”

Retain strength? Pick-up strength? Where in the world did Rei pick up those concepts? And why did he have to floridly voice out his theories? _Whatever,_ Rin scoffed in his mind. _It’s not like Nagisa would snag that penguin anyway._

But fate, Rin decided, loved messing with him as he watched the claw ascend, tightly gripping a round pink penguin and carefully dropping it in the chute leading to the outside world. His sister squealed in delight as Nagisa bent down to take out the stuffed toy.

“Nagisa-kun, how did you do that?!” Gou exclaimed, throwing her arms around the boy after he finally stood up. Rin was surprised with her boldness to hug Nagisa in public, and even more so with the fact that Nagisa was just as surprised. Even from afar, he could notice the bright red flush on the younger boy’s cheeks. His eyes were wide, mouth ajar. It was a rare sight – chatty and bouncy Nagisa failing to form words for once.

Gou slowly let go of the boy, hands still on his shoulders. “And I thought only Haruka-senpai was good with the claw machine!”

(Rin groaned. Maybe he had it all wrong. Maybe claw machines responded to weirdos like Haru and troublemakers like Nagisa.)

Gou’s grin faded into parted lips curled downwards. She must have only realized what she had done, as her eyes slowly widened and her arms quickly retracted close to her chest. She faced sideward quickly, avoiding Nagisa’s eyes, and darted her eyes on the ground as pink colors peppered her cheeks.

Nagisa blinked. “G-Gou-chan…”

“I-I’m sorry for being too hasty, Nagisa-kun.”

The boy blinked again, and his trademark youthful grin reemerged. He stepped one foot closer to Gou and gently poked her arms with the stuffed pink penguin, capturing her attention once more. “This is yours, Gou-chan,” he said, ears pinker than the penguin’s fluffy body.

Nagisa took her hands and passed the penguin, giving her hands a soft squeeze before she cradled it in her arms. “Are you sure, Nagisa-kun? You worked hard on getting it,” she replied softly.

He chuckled, pointing at the machine. “I could always try again, Gou-chan. And if all else fails, I can always ask Haru-chan to play. We should invite him and Mako-chan for a double date next time!”

Gou pouted, holding the penguin closer. The blond noticed and smirked. “Or maybe I can just ask him when we plan a swim club outing here. I guess I’m a bit selfish, wanting to have you alone to myself sometimes, Gou-chan.”

“It’s Kou,” the girl replied, annoyance absent from her voice.

She was grinning. Rin wasn’t.

It wasn’t helping either that Sousuke was too preoccupied with his game that Rin couldn’t rant to him. His only source of mild amusement now was Rei covering his ears after hearing the unadulterated cheesiness that spilled from his best friend’s mouth, trying to protect the last ounces of his mind’s virginity towards the concepts of love and dating in years of the youth.

However…

_This is for you, Gou-chan._

Rin had to admit, he liked how Nagisa gave her a gift.

~~_+10 Rin acceptance points._ ~~


End file.
